Strings of miniature lights with standardized sizes have become popular in recent years for decoration and ornamentation during a holiday season, such as Christmas, New Year's, Hanukkah, Independence Day, and the like--celebrations, as well as for purposes of ornamental displays, as in advertising or product promotion. Typically, these strings of lights are arranged on tree branches, along rooftop eaves and edges, around windows, on bushes and around product displays or business signage. These light strings operate with low wattage, small or miniature light bulbs, connected in a series along connecting wires which are properly insulated for either indoor or outdoor use. Through standardization of size and through means of mass production, these light strings have become relatively inexpensive to produce and operate with a low amount of electricity for highly visible, pinpoint illumination.
Unfortunately, it is often difficult for artistic individuals to properly arrange such lights. It is difficult to string the lights in such a manner that the lights are evenly spaced from one another. Often, continual adjustments are necessary so as to allow the lights to be spaced in a desired pattern. Under certain circumstances, the long lengths of wires which extend throughout the string of light bulbs becomes tangled and makes arrangement, for artistic purposes, even more difficult. This arrangement of holiday lights becomes particularly difficult when the holiday lights are applied to bushes, tree trunks, poles, and pillars. After the lights have been applied and artistically installed on such items, the long strand of electrical line will often become tangled when the lights are removed for storage. During a subsequent year, it is necessary to remove the lights, untangle the lights, and then reapply the lights in the desired pattern. As such, a need has developed so as to provide a system whereby the light bulbs can be displayed in a desired even pattern in a simple and easy manner while preventing the problem of the tangling of the light cord.
In the past, various U.S. patents have issued relating to such techniques for displaying such lights. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,163, issued on Sep. 10, 1996 to R. R. Pisani, describes a miniature light string display container for selectively displaying a plurality of light bulbs of a miniature light string in a desired arrangement. This container includes a front display panel having an array of regularly spaced mounting openings threrethrough. These openings are sized for securely receiving light bulbs of a light string at least partially therethrough in a desired arrangement or pattern which is selectable on the array of mounting openings. The display container also includes a reversibly openable entry panel with a closed position and an open position. Electrical connection wires extend through the display container, when closed, for connecting the string of lights to an electrical power source so that the pattern of inserted light bulbs is illuminated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,462, issued on Jan. 20, 1998 to D. D. Rumpel, describes a mounting apparatus for conventional decorative light strings. This device includes a flexible open mesh sheet with spaced interstices extending between a front and a back side of the sheet. A light clip base member and a transparent lens member having a bulb receiving recess are also included for attachment to the sheet. One of the members includes a fastener configured to releasably secure a decorative light bulb and socket with the light bulb received within the bulb receiving recess. The fastener is shaped to releasably join the light clip base member and transparent lens member on opposite sides of the open mesh sheet through the open mesh of the sheet with the transparent lens member projected from the front side of the sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,361, issued on Feb. 11, 1997 to L. Lawrence, describes a celebration electric light net. This movable and flexible net is arranged in a pattern. This pattern is defined by a plurality of parallel strands having eyelets therein to releasably engage and hold lamps in a light string. The net, while supporting an attached light string, can be draped to any contour determined by a supportive surface and can be positioned in a deployed pattern with that contour or stored for later use.
International Publication No. WO 88/01360, published on Feb. 25, 1998 to M. Janko et al., teaches an illuminated article in the form of a garment which includes an electrically conductive harness mounted at predetermined locations on the housing which receives a plurality of illumination devices. A pair of electrical conductors mounted in an elongated string are securable within the housing in engagement with the leads of the light emitting diodes. An electrical power source includes a battery and an on/off switch which is also mounted in the articles and receives one end of the electrical conductors in the harnesses to connect the illumination devices to the battery for selectively illuminating the illumination devices.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a holiday light display device which keeps the lights in a uniform pattern.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a holiday light display device which keeps the string of lights in an untangled arrangement.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a holiday light display device which serves to allow for the lengthy storage of a string of lights.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a holiday light display device which allows for easy light application to bushes, tree trunks, poles, pillars, and the like.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a holiday light display devices which is easy to use, relatively inexpensive, and easy to manufacture.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.